Fall Fire Safety Tips for Your Home

As the leaves turn from green to orange, the weather cools, and you start preparing for the cold season ahead. You’re excited about Halloween and can’t wait to start decorating your home. But have you thought about the fire safety risks that arise during the fall? Here are a few important fall fire safety tips to keep your family safe this autumn.

Check and Maintain Detectors and Alarms

• Change smoke/carbon detector batteries and test the alarms. When Daylight Savings Time begins and ends, it’s a good idea to change your smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries. This ensures the alarms don’t fail when you turn the heat on in your home.
  • Don’t forget to test smoke alarms after changing the batteries.
  • Check that all fire extinguishers are in working order when you adjust the clocks each season.

Service Your Heating Devices

• Have your heating devices checked and serviced before turning on the heat.
  • Have your HVAC system inspected, cleaned, and serviced by a certified HVAC contractor. Be sure to replace furnace filters with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. Also, learn how to prevent HVAC water damage.
  • If you use space heaters, make sure there is at least three feet of space around them. Don’t place fabrics on space heaters to dry, and Keep flammable materials away from the heater. Turn the heaters off when going to bed.
  • If you have a fireplace, hire a professional chimney sweep to inspect and clean your chimney. Keep flammable objects away from the fireplace and keep a mesh metal screen around it.

Holiday Safety

• Can’t wait to decorate your home and mastermind scary costumes for Halloween? Remember, safety comes first. Keep decorations away from open flames and other heat sources.
• Use battery-operated lights instead of candles in jack-o-lanterns. We advise against using real candles for decorating your home.
• Be smart and safe while cooking during the holidays.

Outdoor Fire Risks

• Outdoor fire risks – Remove leaves and other flammable debris from around your home. Check your rain gutters for leaves and debris, too. Prune trees and rake up leaves and twigs.
• Remove fuel from lawnmowers before storing them for winter. Don’t store fuel in your home or garage.

Fire Escape Plan

• Design a fire escape plan and practice it with your family. If a fire breaks out at 2 AM and your smoke alarms wake you, know your escape plan. Identify escape routes for each section of your home and set up a place to meet outside. Practice staying low to avoid smoke and using emergency ladders to escape through windows.

You might also like: Winter Fire Safety Tips

Don’t let a fire disrupt your fall festivities. Have fun and follow these fall fire safety tips. However, if a disaster happens at any time of the year, your locally-owned PuroClean of Matawan is there for fast, professional smoke remediation or fire damage repair.